Monster
by OWLKEEPER101
Summary: 11 months after the Second Mobian War, soldiers are still reporting severe, graphic and disturbing nightmares. Pyro the Wolf, hero of the resistance, is one of these soldiers, claiming he has spoken to the bloody, dead corpse of Infinite The Jackal. Rated T for Blood and nightmarish elements.


Once the war is over, former soldiers are still reporting severely disturbing nightmares. Pyro is one of those soldiers, saying he has spoken face to face with the bloody, dead corpse of Infinite the Jackal.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Sonic The Hedgehog characters besides my own OC characters, none of which make an appearance in this story. 'Pyro' refers to the red wolf from the Sonic Forces trailers, as I feel it is a more fitting name than 'Rookie.'

Rated M for disturbing imagery, blood, and nightmarish elements.

* * *

Opening his eyes, Pyro could only see darkness. It was as though he was floating in limbo, through space, with no source of light anywhere to be seen. Looking down at his hands, he noticed the green gloves he swore he would never don again, the heavy leather pouches over his shoulder, the ear mic fixed to his glasses. War attire.

Terrified, Pyro's eyes swept the dark, fruitless. A low kackling resonated in the cold, non-existent air. Pyro opened his mouth to cry out, but no sound issued from his throat. Raising his hands to his gullet, the gloved fingers drew back, covered in liquid red. Blood.

Pyro tried to scream, to yell for help, but the gaping hole in his neck only spurted blood faster, the wolf's fingers doing little to stem the flow. The kackling grew louder, more pronounced, and Pyro could almost swear he felt those wretched claws ripping into his neck and flesh again just as they had on that first encounter 11 months ago.

"I can taste your terror, child…"

The words held no echo, no resemblance of any reality whatsoever, but Pyro could feel each word like a breath in his ears.

"Flee, screaming.. And I'll let you live.."

Pyro squeezed his eyes shut, his body wracked with silent sobs. The blood from his throat dripped to the now existing floor, bright red against black. He gave a cough, and red began issuing from his mouth as well, just like before when his refusal to scream resulted in his tounge being torn from his mouth and thrown at his feet all those months ago..

"Stubborn child.. So you have a death wish.. So be it.."

Pyro tried to plead with the voice, to let it cease it's torture and let him live, but his lack of a tounge and wounded throat prevented him from doing so. His wide eyes searched the darkness, blinking rapidly, and suddenly, that dreaded figure appeared behind his eyelids; it was Infinite the jackal, hanging suspended limply in the air, like some sort of creepy marionette. The silver mask that was symbolic of so many deaths was cocked to the side, as though it's wearer was hung by the neck. Blood seemed to be dripping to the ground from underneath; it's source was unknown.

Pyro tried to look away from the horrifying sight, but whenever he turned around the figure still remained in front of him. Suddenly, Infinite's voice seemed to ring out of nowhere once more, this time with new words.

"You think you have won…"

Pyro fell to the ground, horrified, as Infinite's hands began to gesture in an odd, unnatural way, as though controlled by a puppeteer. His head still hung limply, lifeless.

"You may have won the war of Mobius.. But you cannot win this war, the war in your mind.."

Pyro shook like a leaf, watching the dead hands gesture to him. It was like being threatened all over again..

"I may be dead.. But I still torture you and your fellows.. Fear lasts longer than life.. You shall spend eternity in my cage, to suffer along with me…"

Infinite's head suddenly rose to some semblance of consciousness, though no glowing yellow could be seen beyond the red lens. Pyro shifted once more, his mouth open with disgusted amazement and fear. The blood continued to drip down to the floor from under the mask, leaving the black fur looking sticky and matted.

"...In the end.. I.. Still… Won.."

Infinite's hands moved to the mask, gripping it and pulling it away from the Jackal's face. The arms then immediately collapsed, dead once more, and the mask came crashing down to Pyro's feet with a few deafening clangs. Gulping, and silently praying to every God that has ever existed, Pyro looked up from the mask.

Infinite's head was once again hanging at an awkward angle, his face wrapped almost entirely with white medical bandages. Blood seeped through from where his covered eyes would be, dribbling down his white muzzle to the floor. His jaw appeared to be broken as it too was hanging by an unnatural angle, the teeth sharp and covered in liquid red. Infinite's ears were torn beyond recognition, chunks and pieces missing here and there. The sight was vomit-inducing, and Pyro couldn't look away; the poor wolf was transfixed with complete and utter terror.

"I… Still… Won…"

Slowly, the lips of the dead corpse pulled into the most sickening slasher smile Pyro had ever seen. Managing to close his eyes, Pyro silently cried out one more time for it all to end. Begging silently, he dared to open his eyes again, his hope never vanishing.

The red wolf was greeted by a bedroom with grey walls, a little desk against the far wall under the window a little ways away. The sun was only beginning to peek over the horizon, and the alarm clock next to his bed read 6:30.

Pyro gasped for air, subconsciously feeling his throat and moving his tounge stump around in his mouth to make sure everything was intact. Once reassured that everything was indeed as it should be, Pyro stumbled from his bed and over to his desk.

Quickly shoving away a prototype wispon he had been working on, Pyro pulled out his journal. Ever since his first encounter with Infinite, he had kept one in order to spill out his feelings that he no longer could verbally.

Writing furiously, the wolf completed the entry in little over a minute. Taking a second to look over the letter to make sure he hadn't missed anything, he left the book open on his desk, heading off to start his day in spite of his haunting shadow.

* * *

"Infinite-

I know you will see this with whatever is left of your evil ghost whispering among us, but all I wish to tell you is that you are wrong, that you have failed. Yes, you may haunt me for the rest of my days. Yes, I may be pulled into your chilling memory for all eternity. But that is not your victory. It is mine.

My Victory is being able to live my life to the fullest even with you looming in the past trying to pull me down. You can try all you want; I will keep on going no matter what. Because unlike you, I have friends to live for. I have people who will willingly step in my path to save me, and me for them. I have won because I never gave up hope on those around me, and I will continue to believe in those who will fight till the end with me.

That's the difference between me and you.

I have won because I believed.

That's what a hero does."

-Pyro the Wolf.

* * *

Hey, all. Yes, I know I haven't been on in forever, and I am sorry for that. I have been wanting to work on the stories I had planned to be multiple chapters, but late High School has caught me by the ankle of late and practically robbed me of any free time. If my priorities include getting overseas to Europe for college in the next year or so, however, I think Fanfiction may have to be put on hold for quite a while.

I'm truly sorry, but there are more important things for me to be focused on at the moment.

On another note, please feel free to leave a review, and please enjoy the story. We'll see if any more crop up in the future. ;)


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